Atlanta History Center: A Tourist Goldmine

Centennial Olympic Games Museum
at the Atlanta History Center

Visiting the Atlanta History Center was interesting, educational and, most of all, exciting. As a tourist in Atlanta (even though I’m a resident, I love playing tourist), the Center has been the best surprise yet—a tourist's goldmine!

The day I visited, I was on the 33-acre campus for more than four hours and barely made a dent in available offerings. I took two tours: the Swan House, which I blogged about recently, and the Tullie Smith Farm. I had a quick snack at the onsite café and was then off to a couple of museums in the Center, my favorite being the Centennial Olympic Games Museum. I also walked through several historic gardens.

Before I get to the details of the visit, let me tell you what admission gives you. On a single ticket, you will have access to:

Historic Houses
Swan House
Tullie Smith Farm
Museums
Atlanta History Museum
Centennial Olympic Games Museum
Gardens
Quarry Garden
Asian-American Garden
Rhododendron Garden
Swan House Gardens
Discovery Trail
Amenities
Swan Coach House
Coca-Cola Café
Museum Shop
Kenan Research Center
Kids’ Corner

Atlanta History Center

I arrived in time to join an 11:00 a.m. tour of the Swan House. The ticket agent also offered me a pass for a 1:00 p.m. tour of the Tullie Smith Farm, which I also accepted out of curiosity.

Tour passes are "required" for the timed tours. One of the really nice things about this place is that you don't have to idly wait until your tour starts. There's lots to see and do before any given tour start time.

I had about half an hour before the start time of the Swan House tour so I headed to the Centennial Olympic Games Museum. I lived in Atlanta in 1996 when the city hosted the Olympics, so I entered the gallery with a strong interest and a slight sense of nostalgia.

The exhibit is as bright and festive as are the Olympic Games themselves. My sense of nostalgia quickly faded as I was transported nearly 15 years into the past, immersed in the excitement of an event that transformed the City of Atlanta, I believe for the better.

The museum contains "the world's largest collection of Olympic Torches." The torches, and relative Olympic coins, are displayed chronologically, from the resurrection of the Olympic Games in 1896 to the 1996 Centennial Olympics, including pylons noting cancelled Olympic Games.

I was so caught up in the Centennial Olympic Games exhibit that I almost missed the start of the Swan House tour. I made a brisk five-minute walk to the house. More on this tour, and the saucy Linda, is in my blog post "Swan House: Where Splendor Migrated."

Asian-American Garden

After exploring the gardens around the Swan House, I had time to visit the Cherry Sims Asian-American Garden. Quite lush, even for autumn, the garden features Asian plants and their American counterparts, with statuary and a gazebo—a unique approach to multi-cultural botany, I thought.

I wasn’t sure what to expect at the Tullie Smith Farm. Although seeing on arrival that it's a farmhouse and some barns, I suspected there might be more to it since it is featured in the Center's brochure.

I arrived a little early and explored the Farm's gardens which included vegetable, fruit, flower and herb variations. On the tour, we learned how some of these gardens were maintained in the early- to mid-1800s, including "sweeping."

Our tour guide greeted us at precisely 1:00 p.m. with an invitation us to join her on the porch of the Tullie Smith House. The tour guide's Southern accent was, surprisingly, a Scottish brogue. A delightful and charming lady, presumably in her 70s, she was dressed in period costume.

Tullie Smith House

The dry-humored, highly entertaining "young lady" toured us through the living room, bedroom, and weaving room in the main house and then, in a separate building, the kitchen. Kitchens were often located in detached buildings at the time to minimize fire hazard to the main house.

Afterward, I headed back to the main building of the Center for a little lunch at the Coca-Cola Café. Between me and lunch was the Mary Howard Gilbert Memorial Quarry Garden. The pleasant stroll included an opportunity to explore a comprehensive collection of pre-colonial Georgian plants.

After lunch, I toured the museums and exhibits housed in the main building of the Atlanta History Center. First up was "Down the Fairway with Bobby Jones," chronicling the life of the legendary golfer through an extensive collection of artifacts.

As are many Southerners, I have a more than passing interest in Civil War history. The Center has an abundant collection of artifacts, including cannons, swords and uniforms, that tell the story of the war when 670,000 Americans lost their lives…a most sobering exhibit.

Civil War exhibit

Provided by the Library of Congress, an exhibit titled "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition" is the most comprehensive exhibit on the sixteenth president of the United States I've ever seen. Its run at the Center comes to an end on Sunday, November 7.

The folk arts exhibit is a spectacular array of Georgian folk culture. The collection includes antique and contemporary artifacts, including colorful quilts, whimsical pottery and intricate saw grass weavings.

One of my favorite exhibits was "Metropolitan Frontiers." The most interactive exhibit in the Center, the vehicles, videos and vernacular signage, in addition to a wide variety of other artifacts, makes for an exciting tour through Atlanta's rich history, 1835-2000. Tracing the city's lineage from Indian settlements to modern skyscrapers is impressively accomplished in one space.

Is my curiosity for Atlanta history satisfied? To say that I'm impressed with the Atlanta History Center would be a gross understatement. I could easily have spent the entire day contentedly exploring. I can hardly wait to return to see what I missed on my first visit.

Touring the Atlanta History Center

Date toured: Friday, October 29, 2010
Hours: Monday-Saturday 10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Sunday 12:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Cost: Adults $16.50, Seniors and Students $13, Youths $11 (tickets)
Location: 130 West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, Georgia (map and directions)
Parking: Free onsite parking
Website: http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/
Facebook: Atlanta History Center

Civil War exhibit

Swan House: Where Splendor Migrated

Swan House

The Swan House was home to cotton brokerage heirs Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Inman. Today, the Swan House and its picturesque gardens are part of the 33-acre campus of the Atlanta History Center.

The Swan House was a "down-size" move for the Inman's. Seems difficult to believe once you see the 13,000 square-foot custom-built home filled with exquisite Italian marble features, hand-carved mantles and one-of-a-kind ceiling embellishments, to name a few of its remarkable features.

The home, completed in 1928, was designed by noted architect Philip Trammell Shutze.

Mr. and Mrs. Inman were avian enthusiasts. Mr. Inman had a strong love for the American Bald Eagle and Mrs. Inman adored the Swan. The name of the house was derived from the prominence of sculpted swans throughout the home, including an iron swan sitting in the transom of the back entry.

The tour of Swan House begins in the portico. Standing on a cobblestone drive next to four gigantic columns, our tour guide, Linda, welcomed us to Swan House. As the tour progressed I came to realize that Linda is very well-spoken, quite knowledgeable and even a little saucy, in a very good way, of course.

Swan House (front)

Once again, I was compelled to obey the "no photography" inside the house rule (or "favor"as the polite and charismatic Linda defined it). On this particular instance, the rule is to the benefit of visitors. The home is filled with refined adornments and the tour itself is an enlightening learning experience. Instead of snap, snap, snap, I was able to bathe in the elegance of the 1920s architecture and décor.

Upon entering the home, which recently received a $5.4 million renovation (a fact that the unyielding Linda would remind us of on numerous occasions), the first sight—the floor—is indeed impressive.

The foyer floor configuration is a five-point star, circled with a band of cresting waves, surrounded by a spirograph-like design. The floor is made of high-contrast, eye-catching pure black and white Italian marble and served as the inspiration for the logo of the Atlanta History Center. The crystal chandelier in the foyer is made of several swan-shaped swoops.

The same black and white marble in the foyer is used throughout the home's main level and it is rumored that one of Mrs. Inman's eccentricities was a rule to not walk on the black marble, only on the white, to avoid creating scuff marks. More than 80 years later, the floor is as pristine as the first day it was polished…maybe she had something there or maybe it was the $5.4 million rennovation.

Swan House (back)

The home is filled with the original Inman Family furnishings including beds, tables, lamps, chandeliers, carpets…everything! The only exception is Mr. Inman's bedroom furniture. Some of the wallpapers and carpets have been reproduced, but in the exact designs that were original to the home.

As lavish as the home is—from dining room to parlor, bedrooms to powder rooms—the house was built for comfort. The many modern features, including a private booth for telephone calls, are "disguised" so as to preserve the elegance of the period.

Linda, our tour guide, turned out to be something of an etymologist. Throughout the tour, she shared tidbits of how features in the home relate to the origin of words and phrases, such as "mind your own beeswax." Learn about this one on the tour when the fireplace screen in Mrs. Inman's bedroom is brought into discussion.

The stairwell leading from the grand foyer to the second floor is said to have been the pride and joy of Mrs. Inman, and a piece to be proud of it is. As in many other features of the house, the stairwell is a "modern marvel," especially for 1928. It stands free of support. It was built with poured concrete and steel reinforcements. The bannister is made of elegantly carved wood, stained dark.

At the end of the tour, Linda invited us to view an extensive gallery of architect Shutze's decorative arts collection, minding us to take note of the cutaway of Shutze's library and the boars head soup terrines. This exhibit is self-guided and is located in the terrace level of the house.

Swan House garden

When visiting the home, be sure to allow time to walk the grounds to see the gardens, its many sculptures and down the front lawn so you can take in the iconic full view of the Swan House. It's definitely worth firing a quad.

Every tour is a unique experience, not only in the idiosyncrasies of how the tour guide tells a story, but through the tourists themselves, whether visitors or locals. In this particular group, shining as bright as Mrs. Inman’s swan chandelier, were an appreciation for elegance and a strong pride of the South. They were a chatty bunch, too, but Linda, the consummate professional she is, answered every question.

I did not have time to visit the Swan Coach House. The beautiful structure, once served as the garage (a three-car garage, impressive at the time…impressive now, actually) and the servants' quarters. Today, Swan Coach House is a gallery, a gift shop and a restaurant. On my next visit, I will arrive hungry to make certain that Swan Coach House is at the top of my list of destinations on this 33-acre complex.

One last note, the Atlanta History Center, which includes the Swan House, is the best ticket in town. It's an inclusive admission to the Center with access to:

• Swan House,
• Tullie Smith Farm,
• Atlanta History Museum,
• various gardens,
• Kenan Research Center,
• the museum shop, and
• a learning center for kids.

You can buy a dual ticket for only a few dollars more and tour the Margaret Mitchell House, also managed by the Atlanta History Center.

Will I be flying back to the splendor of Swan House any time soon? I'm certain I'll migrate there more than once a year. With so much to see and explore, regularly changing exhibits, and so much history to learn, it promises to always be a fun and enlightening experience.

Touring the Swan House (part of the Atlanta History Center)

Date toured: Friday, October 29, 2010
Hours: Monday-Saturday 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; Sunday 1:00 p.m.-4 p.m.
Cost: Adults $16.50, Seniors and Students $13, Youths $11 (tickets)
Location: 130 West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, Georgia (map and directions)
Parking: Free onsite parking
Website: http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/cms/Swan+House/116.html

Swan House portico